THE WICKED:
Chapter One: A man they call, “Drom”
-Part I:
He awoke for the first time with bright green eyes, taking in all surroundings. A necklace dangled above him, held by his mother. It was the necklace that belonged to his late father, who died a few months earlier in a routine hunt.
It was supposed to be like any Apachion hunt. Armat would go out, kill all the Apachions, and return to his village, made safe again. The Apachion was a fierce beast, coming from the pre-evolutionary form of certain birds. It was much like its really distant cousin, a dinosaur known as the raptor. Apachions hunted in large packs, more often than not, lead by an alpha-species known as the Apachedrome. Armat had killed many-a-drome in his past and took pride in it, collecting their talons and adding them to his necklace. Before his death, he had about twenty of these talons.
Armat went off to outflank the beasts as he always would. They seemed smart enough to effectively hunt as a group, but didn’t quite catch on to Armat’s tactics. Every good thing comes to an end, however. After killing an excessively large group of Apachions and multiple Apachedromes, something else was present in the forest. A loud screech echoed through the trees and in a flutter of blood-red wings and black scales, a beast, only fabled, presented itself before Armat. Known as “The Grand Cross” due to the large scar on its chest, it belonged a species known as “Aveons.” They, essentially, were dragons. Grand Cross seemed to be waiting, seemingly for a reaction.
“The legends are true, then. Truly a magnificent beast as you are, though, you pose a threat to my village. For that, I apologize in having to slay you,” proclaimed Armat, to the beast.
The beast let out a growl and took a charging stance, waiting once again for something. Armat pointed his blade, yelled, and charged. The battle, however glorious as it was, ended swiftly. The power of an Aveon was not to be reckoned with, and this was proven to Armat the only way he would learn such a tale. Armat had fallen to the beast, fighting all the way, however. His body was found a few nights later, slightly cleaned up from the bloody carcass it originally was. The drome-hunter was no more.
“Dromenail,” his mother said softly. That was to be the newborn’s name, to honor his father’s death. No one ever found out about the fight against the Grand Cross.
A decade went by of Drominae growing up and learning all the other things kids his age were taught. He wasn’t able to say, “Dromenail” for whatever reason and instead said, “Drominae.” The name stuck. At the age of ten, he had developed into a very well mannered and refined individual. The only thing he seemed to not keep professional was his black hair, which he kept at shoulder-length in kind of a mess. He was about the size he was supposed to be at that age and had white skin, a rarity in this village. His eyes were light green and usually had some hair in front of them. He was known for his maturity and calmness. At least that’s who he was on the outside. When he wasn’t busy impressing a friend’s parents with good behavior or completing schoolwork (Schools had been developed at this point, but teachers and staff were all volunteer) or cleaning, he would hunt in secrecy. Since he was five cycles old, Drominae had a slight fascination with weapons and hunting. He began to hunt small animals at seven and at this point, took on Apachions that had gone astray from their pack. He hunted with a small bow and a short sword, both which he had hidden outside the village in a secret area.
The secret area was another thing. Whenever Drominae got upset or saddened, he walked off to a place in the forest that he discovered on one of his first hunts. You had to pass through the large roots of a Cyima tree and exit out the most discreet of holes from underneath the trunk. After which, a fallen Cyima made a bridge over a ravine with the Lustia River at the bottom to a small depression in a mountain which needed to be scaled. He had made the path easier over time, adding chains and boards to help get past one part of the mountain where the ledge disappeared almost completely. In the small depression was a cliff, looking over Aveon Lake along with a small spring and a small Cyima. The ground was mostly granite rock with some vegetation near the spring and a patch of flowers here and there. It was in this spot that Drominae was able to collect his thoughts and just think for a while.
-Part II
“Get up, Drom! You’ll be late! Jensi forbid that happens,” said Luca, Drominae’s mother.
A tall, skinny figure jolted up from his bed quickly with alert. “Oh, crap!”, yelled Drominae.
“Hey! Don’t say that!” Luca snapped.
“Come on, mother. Crap isn’t a bad word! Now get out of my room, I have to get dressed!” said Drominae before shooing his mom out of his room as she gave soft laughs at his sense of urgency. The room was basic. Four walls, a desk, a dresser, a mirror, and some collections. A lamp stood on the desk and a Apachion skull, next to it. Drominae was quickly dressed in shorts and a tee shirt before running out the door with his bag.
He got in his seat just as the teacher walked in, greeted by the class with a friendly, “Hello”. Drominae turned to his friend behind him with a smirk.
“Got here just in time, eh?” he said.
“Oh yeah. That was a bit too close there, Drom,” said Cyris, a shorter boy, with short, brown hair. He had hazel eyes and a kind of pointy face. He had tanned skin, the norm for the village. “Ya know, when you ran in like you did, you caught Aeva’s attention. She was actually staring for a few seconds after you sat.”
Drominae looked over at a darker girl towards the front of the room with long, straight, black hair. She was probably the prettiest girl in that class with a soft look to her face and amber, almost pure yellow eyes. She had one of those faces that looked somewhat sad, even when smiling. For the full year, Drominae always held a bit of a crush on her. “You’re kidding me, Cyris. She wouldn’t do that. She doesn’t even know I exist.”
Cyris shrugged. “All right, if you don’t believe me…” he trailed.
“Well… was she looking at me weird? Did she make any faces? I mean if you aren’t lying…” Drominae’s face was a little red.
“No. She was kind of just starting with a soft smirk. She looked upset, though,” explained Cyris.
“She always looks upset… That’s how she is. I like it, though because it’s cute and unique,” Drominae said, smiling.
“Eh. Guess she just isn’t my type then,” laughed Cyris.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Drominae.
“Well it’s obvious you like her,” stated Cyris.
“No…”
“Yeah you do. Come on, Drominae! It’s been seven cycles!” said Cyris, almost a decade later. He had become much taller and gained some weight at this point. His hair went just below his ears.
“Yeah ok, fine! I admit it! So what if I do? You know what… I’m going to go tell her!” exclaimed Drominae. He now had long hair, still slightly unkempt though.
“Go for it, dude. No one’s stopping ya. No one has <i>been</i> stopping you. I mean for Jensi’s sake! You’re already really good friends with her! Just ask her! She says no, she says no. She’ll still be your friend,” lectured Cyris. He turned his head at a sudden distraction.
“Hi, guys!” started Aeva, sitting down next to Drominae as she had done since the start of the school cycle. “What are ya talkin’ about?” She smiled a little, looking between them both. She had gotten quite the body over the years. It was something most guys would turn and say, “I’d tap that” to. Her face however was still the innocent-looking, soft-detailed, pretty face. She grew out her bangs and put red highlights in them. Other than that, not much else had changed in seven cycles.
Drominae’s face went red. After what they had just talked about, he felt almost obligated to ask her out now. “Well, you see…” he started.
“Hold that thought”, she interrupted. There was something different on her mind today. Before going on, she looked back and forth, thinking. “You know how we’ve gotten really close over the cycles?”
“Yeah,” replied Drominae.
“Yeah, and how I sit next to you every day and make sure everything’s ok?” she continued.
“Yeah, we’re friends,” Drominae said, confused.
“Yeah, and about that… I kind of don’t know how to say this…” said Aeva
Drominae’s eyes widened in shock at her reply. “Wait. Don’t tell me that you want to… Or don’t wanna…”
“I don’t think we can be friends anymore,” she said, getting up.
“Wait! What? Why!?” asked Drominae, his eyes starting to gloss over.
“Because,” started Aeva, moving a bit close to touch Drominae’s hand, “I heard your conversation… And if what you said is true, then I don’t want to do that to you by being your friend.”
Drominae looked away, trying to fight tears. “But I-“ He was interrupted by the shock of feeling someone sitting on his lap. He looked back to see Aeva as she grabbed his hands and kissed him.
“I’d rather do something else and be more than your friend,” said Aeva, a blush across her dark skin. “I wasn’t sure until now if you really liked me all this time or not. I’m glad you do though. It just made asking you out that much easier.”
Drominae blinked, confusion coursing through his entire being. His entire face was red and his throat wouldn’t let him speak. “I- Uh- um –ah- I… I- yes. I would be happy to- what just happened, Cyris?”
“You just scored the hottest girl in the school, that’s what,” replied Cyris. Aeva blushed a bit more, smiling uncontrollably.
“I thought you said she isn’t your type, Cy,” said Drominae, continually looking around and then back at the girl on his lap.
“That was cycles ago. She had boobs and an ass now. And curves,” explained Cyris, laughing. “You two go have fun. I’m going to book. Later!”
“Bye, Cyris… and hello, Aeva,” said Drominae, looking into Aeva’s eyes.
“Shocked?” asked Aeva.
“Yes. A lot,” replied Drominae.
“Good,” said Aeva before pulling in Drominae for another kiss.
-Part III
“For the trial to adulthood, we shall regress you back. If you are able to remember a past life, you may pass into the world of the adult and become an elder member of the society. Shall you not be able to see into your past, you will be required to do a series of other trials before you can do this again. Once you pass, however, seeing as Aeva has already done so, you may choose to be her mate,” said the village chief.
Drominae had been laid down on a table and pinned down by village shamans. “For Aeva, I will pass,” he declared.
“May Jensi will it that way,” said the chief. He raised his hand and the high priestess came over to Drominae.
“You close your eyes as we put a spell. Your will to go under will determine this,” she said before chanting in some sort of language.
Drominae closed his eyes after offering a warm smile at Aeva, who was among those watching. As the chant went on, torches lit around the room by themselves, the last one being next to the priestess.
“Now you shall remember!” yelled the priestess and shamans simultaneously.
<i>Sh*t. Nothing is happening. I can’t remember anything except my dinner last night. This can’t happen. I need to pass. I need it for Aeva! Remember! Remember! REMEM-</i>
Drominae opened his eyes to see a large desk with people around it. The wall had a big logo that said “Wicked” on it. The room overlooked a city and had TV’s in each corner.
“Mr. Drex, how do you suppose we end this war? We are losing the battle rather swiftly now,” asked a figure at the table.
“You can drop the formalities, sir. Please, Jason will do just fine,” said Drominae, or Jason in this case. “Now we have the weapon, don’t we? If the Judgment get any closer to our capitol, we’ll just activate it.”
“And who will remain to maintain The Wicked?” asked the figure.
“No one. And there will be no Judgment either. The earth will be at peace at last. Isn’t that what we wanted in the first place?” replied Jason.
“But Mr. Drex!”
“No buts, Robert. And I told you; it’s Jason. It is settled. Send out the message to have the weapon on hold for my activation. Remember what we stand for. We fought valiantly but it looks like we were the good guys in the end. The good guys never win. Mother Earth will be happy though.”
“Right. I’ll get on that immediately, sir!” Robert got up and left the room right after.
“We are the driving force behind the world. We are wicked. Hahaha! If only we could,” said Jason before closing his eyes. Drominae opened his to see the tree canopies above him. He retained every memory and thought that Jason Drex had, though.
“The Wicked,” Drominae said before the priestess came over with a stern look.
“You… you have forsaken us all if you remain here. Leave,” she commanded.
“Leave? To where, my house? Did I pass?” asked Drominae.
“Exiled. Now go, before you corrupt the minds of your very own!” yelled the priestess. Everyone around was in shock. Aeva ran over with tears.
“You can’t be serious, priestess! You can’t banish him!” yelled Aeva.
“You know nothing of this <i>“Wicked”</i> and the threat they pose to us all! He must be gone with!” the priestess yelled back.
“But I love him!” screeched Aeva.
Drominae was in a slight daze until that. He realized what was going on quickly, however. “Aeva, come here,” he said, gesturing over. She leaned in and he whispered something to her. She nodded and walked back a bit, trying to hold back whatever she could from crying anymore. Drominae got up, nodded at the priestess, and walked towards Aeva, kissing her passionately before walking towards the outskirts of the village, and then disappearing entirely. “Be strong,” was the last thing he said.
Heads hung low and people close to Drominae wept. No one believed it. It wasn’t like he was dead. People would have taken that better. To be exiled from the village was far worse than death. To those who didn’t know him, he was now condemned in their minds as a traitor and a demon. Cyris and Aeva got hit hard with criticism for the next year. There was talk about exiling his family for birthing him, but nothing other than talk and rumor happened. Aeva seemed to take it the best. There was something she knew that kept her up. Since the moment that Drominae whispered something to her and making her crack the tiniest of smirks, she seemed to not have too big of a problem with his absence. The weirdest was how she was seen with a big grin on her face while shopping for food. Cyris caught it and lead her to an alleyway to talk.
“Ok, spill it. What do you know?” asked Cyris.
“What do you mean?” asked Aeva back.
“You’re happy as hell. It’s only convenient that today is officially one year since Drominae was exiled. You know something,” proclaimed Cyris.
“Nope! I know nothing! But I might know something later!” exclaimed Aeva.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Cyris.
Aeva looked at her watch. “Oh! I’m going to be late! I’ll tell you tomorrow if I can! Bye!” She gave him a big hug before running off happily.
“What the F**k?”
-Part IV
Drominae held back tears until he reached his secret area, hidden in the mountains. Upon sitting down in the tree, he broke out crying and wept for hours on end. The sun started setting as he calmed down a bit. As it set, he rested his head and fell asleep. The next day, he woke up and thought all day about what was to come. He didn’t eat and only took a drink from the spring every few hours. He once again, went to sleep.
The next day, he woke at dawn with a certain determination. He got his bow and sword and didn’t return until noon, dragging in the carcass of an Apachedrome. There were claw marks and wounds all over Drominae, but the important thing was that he was living, breathing, and had food for the next month. The Apachedrome wasn’t what would feed him, however. He took a long drink and thought for the rest of the day, not eating once again.
A noise got him up near midnight. It was the sound of a proximity alarm he set up. A large branch, previously rigged, plunged into the Lustia River. That loud noise meant that something was at the other side of the ravine. Swiftly and silently, Drominae got his weapons ready, peaking over a rock at what was there. Halfway across the fallen tree was a Felicanth. Felicanths were large mammals that looked like what you got when you combined a wolf and a saber-tooth. They were fully capable of taking down any prey by themselves but preferred to be scavengers. It was the smell of dead Apachedrome, which drew forth this beast. The combination of that smell and the shadows of night were what kept Drominae hidden. The Felicanth made its way to Drominae’s side of the ravine, still down the mountain a ways. A few steps more, and the second proximity alert was triggered. A vine, which held back another vine under stress, snapped and an arrow was whipped at a loose pile of rocks. They tumbled down the mountain towards the Felicanth, causing it to run forward, towards Drominae’s position. As it got to the part where the boards were, Drominae hid directly behind the rock he was at and waited. The Felicanth soon appeared in front of him, eyeing the dead Apachedrome as it walked past. It heard a noise, spun around, and was greeted with a sword through its skull.
“Roar, bitch.”
A fire was started some hours later to cook the Felicanth. Drominae ate some main body meat from the creature and kept the rest of its carcass, along with the Apachedrome, in a cavern he made out of snow, up the mountain a bit. He went about the rest of the morning, setting new proximity alerts. Afterwards, he set out and found some vegetation he had read were safe to eat.
For the next couple weeks (which aren’t actually used by the Neonisans), he lived in that style. A hunter-gatherer. Killing animals and gathering plants were how he nourished himself. He was able to even create a basic soap from certain materials and bathe in the stream that came from the spring nearby. He did that twice a week, as it no longer had as much priority as it did in the village. This style of living had a great change within a couple of months (moons).
He went to sleep the previous night like usual, setting everything up in his defense while he slept. About three hours (sigrees) later, he awoke to the sound of wings beating air nearby. He figured it was just an Aveon passing like usual until the air was felt being pushed at him before vibrations of a landing hit him. He sprung up, grabbing his sword instantly and found himself faced against a blue Aveon. It had seen him somehow while flying by and he looked tasty. It roared and charged. Drominae could only roll out of the way in time to turn around and see it charging again. This time he dove between its legs, causing it to keep running past the cliff’s edge. Unfortunately, it had wings and got itself back up to the cliff. The time in between, however gave Drominae time to hide. He hid in the only safe place: the spring. Aveons were able to sense heat very slightly, and to them, mammals glowed white hot. The spring offered enough cooling to prevent the glow from being too noticeable. With a few seconds of thought, Drominae came up for air, making a loud noise when he went back down.
The Aveon went to the spring and sniffed around, it’s heat sensor glowing slightly, as it did when looking for prey. It turned around, leaving its tail over the water. The thought of killing one of these creatures, which had not been done to his knowledge, began to take over. Drominae peeked out of the water, eyeing his bow, where the Aveon was looking. He looked up at the tail and grinned. Silently, he rose up his hand with the sword out of the water and in one swift swing, knocked off the end of the Aveon’s tail, which kind of resembled a “Y”. The beast roared loudly in pain and rage, quickly turning around to see nothing. It looked back and forth in anger and confusion until it heard, “Hey, stubby,” from behind it. As soon as it began to turn, Drominae’s fingers loosened, allowing the arrow to fly and hit the Aveon directly in the heat sensor as it came to a full turn around. Again, it screeched and began to look for Drominae. Nothing was glowing white hot, which was how it was able to track prey. It soon adjusted to normal sight and saw Drominae preparing an arrow with something. In its rage, it reared its head up, a glow starting to appear in its mouth. As it’s head came back down, a large, white blast of energy flew at Drominae, causing him to dodge at the last second. He dodged the wrong way, though and ended up hanging by one hand from the cliff. His bow and sword fell down and in his other hand was the arrow he had prepared. The Aveon jumped to the end of the cliff, looking down. Its head went into a striking pose and lunged at Drominae.
“Eat this.” Drominae stabbed up with the arrow, making contact with the Aveon’s head. As it pieced through flesh and bone, it exploded, pushing the headless Aveon back and onto the top of the cliff, and Drominae down, towards the water below. The fall was enough where the water surface would kill Drominae on impact. He closed his eyes and smiled. “At least I killed it. Sorry, Aeva. Pride got in my way. My love will be with you. Just keep strong.”
Drominae opened his eyes in his earthy bed the next morning, about three sigrees before shine (noon). He jolted up and felt his skin, scarred all over, but in tact. The smell of dead animal hit his nose and he looked over to see a headless, blue Aveon.
“What the hell?” He walked to the Aveon and noticed a newly-cut cross on it’s chest. “That’s weird. Did I do that?” He shrugged it off. He wasn’t going to wonder why he was still alive. He was just happy to be. The rest of the day was spent preparing the Aveon for food and making a new bow and sword from its non-edible parts. They had unique designs and were made of bone with scale and shell details. What was left from that became a shoulder-piece attached to a chest plate. It went well with the Apachedrome/Apachion-enforced, Felicanth-hide clothes he made. They provided good armor when he hunted the more aggressive animals. He fell asleep early that night, once again to be disturbed at midnight.
More air beat down at him, accompanied by the sound of flapping wings. “Jensi damn! Not again!” Drominae was quick to rise with his bow drawn and readied. He dropped his aim, though upon seeing the beast before him this night.
“The Grand Cross…”
<i>You fought well last night. </i>
Drominae looked around him for someone who had said that before realizing it was from inside his head. “What the F**k!”
<i>Calm down, Dromenail. Look in front of you for the answer.</i>
Drominae looked at the giant Aveon with disbelief. “You? You’re the one talking?”
<i>Yes.</i>
“I didn’t know you could… Are you going to eat me?” Drominae backed up against a wall. He knew he couldn’t kill this one. The beast landed and sat like a dog.
<i>No. You are not food to me. You are friend.</i>
Drominae shook his head. “Friend?”
<i>Yes. You are the only one of your kind to lower your weapon. Does that not mean you are akin to me?</i>
“Drominae twitched an eye and laughed. “It means I know for a fact I can’t kill you!”
<i>You killed the other… Aveon, as you say, quite swiftly. What makes you think I am different?</i>
“Because you’re big and you’re black!”
<i>Do not discriminate because of my color. I am still the same beast. Why won’t you try to kill me?</i>
“Well now I’m not going to kill you because you don’t pose a threat as much…” The Grand Cross let out a menacing roar and Drominae raised his arrow with a yell.
<i>Is it that easy to threaten you? Your species is so confusing.</i>
“You roared at me! Of course I’m threatened! But I tell you now! If you want to kill me, I’m not going down without a fight!!”
<i>You are indeed, his son.</i>
“What!?”
The Aveon gestured towards its tail. It was split down the middle into two tails, each with a half of the “Y” it would normally make. <i>Your father was brave. He did not go down easy. He was able to do this before he did though. Luckily, I have a few tricks that my brothers and sisters do not</i>.
“Such as regeneration… But wait! You killed my father? YOU’RE THE REASON I NEVER KNEW HIM!!”
<i>I apologize. It was either that or die. Had I run, your father would have hunted me down and gotten me off guard. He was protecting your village. He died an honorable dea-</i>
“REGARDLESS! YOU KILLED MY FATHER! YOU BASTARD!” Drominae picked up his new blade, a rather large weapon, but lightweight from the materials. “I’ll kill you.” It began to rain. Thunder was heard soon. The two stood there for a few seconds (degrees), staring.
Lightning struck, causing a blinding flash for an instant and revealing, as it parted, Drominae slashing at the black Aveon.
<i>My goodness… I did not think-</i> The beast dropped. He was still breathing, though. There was a large gash across his chest, bleeding all over though.
Drominae stared and stared for about a sigree before shaking his head. “Jensi damn it…”
The Grand Cross opened its eyes to see Drominae eating some meat from the blue Aveon. He was crudely sitting on a log, glaring at the black Aveon as he ate. “There’s half a Apachedrome over there. I dragged it down myself so I’ll kill you if you don’t eat it.
The beast got itself up slowly, grunting as it did. <i>You did not kill me for some reason.</i> He looked at his chest. There was a large patch over the area that had been cut open. <i>Quite the contrary.</i>
“Yeah well don’t start thinking that I like you. I just can’t kill you. You’re pretty.”
The Aveon let out a noise similar to a laugh. <i>Pretty? Is that the reason?</i>
Drominae grunted. “Yeah. It is.”
<i>Regardless, I thank you. I guess this means I must eat and leave, though.</i>
“No. Stay here. That wound will not heal unless you stay mostly still for the next moon or so. As much as I hate to admit it, I want you here so you can live.” Drominae scoffed and ate the last part of the meat, throwing the bone at the Aveon’s head. “That’s for killing my father.”
<i>And the gash on my chest was not?</i>
“No. That was in self-defense. Eat and sleep. I’ll be back later.” Drominae got up and grabbed his hunting gear, departing tight after.
<i>I have no choice.</i>
-Part IV.V
(Six months later)
“I told you! He’ll appear right there if you give him time!” yelled Drominae.
<i>And I told YOU! Aveons don’t think like that!</i> Yelled The Grand Cross into Drominae’s thoughts.
“Just wait.” A second later, a large, red Aveon came charging out of a line of brush into the clearing that was present. “Ha! Told ya! Close your eyes, I’m about to kill your kin.” Drominae picked up a sword with a bigger blade than himself and in seconds, was able to drop the beast. He turned back at Grand Cross, who was watching, and danced victoriously.
<i>Ok, so you <b>were</b> right. So what? I should tail whip you for dancing on my own kin’s grave.</i> The black Aveon started over towards Drominae.
“Oh can it! You’re just jealous that I was right! Ahahahaha! Now I get to make even more weapons and armor and things! Hey, Cross, you’re going to help me with this, right?” Drom turned to The Grand Cross, who was spacing out.
<i>What? Oh! Yeah, definitely. Wait, did you just call me, “Cross?”</i>
“Well yeah. You are The Grand Cross, after all! I just shortened it!” Drominae began working on the carcass to be easily transported by flight.
<i>All right. Cross it is, in that case.</i> He grabbed the readied carcass as soon as Drominae was on his back. Wings beat and he flew back to Drominae’s mountain. (They began calling the area where Drominae “lived” “Mount Drome.”)
They landed and Drominae did what he normally did with carcasses. Cross was asleep by the time he got back from freezing the meat. With some silence, Drominae did something he hadn’t done in a while. He climbed into the tree and thought. He thought about the village and about his friends. He thought about Aeva, especially. “Hey, Cross! There’s someone I want you to- Oh yeah, you’re asleep. I’ll tell you in the morning.”
<i>Uh huh.</i>
“And she’s really pretty!”
<i>Yup.</i>
“And she has the perfect voice!”
<i>Right. Sounds like a real charmer.</i>
“She is! And she’ll be here in three moons!”
<i>WHAT!?</i>
“Is that a problem?”
<i>OF COURSE IT IS! I CAN’T LET EVERYBODY AND THEIR GIRLFRIENDS KNOW I EXIST!!! I have to keep my title as legendary.</i>
“I’m everybody?” He pointed at himself. “It’s just one other person! She won’t tell! I swear! She’s good like that.”
<i>Can you <b>promise</b> me she’ll keep her pretty little lips shut?</i>
“Yes! I promise!”
<i>…Fine. You’re lucky we’re friends.</i>
“I know. Its still so weird and cool though!” Drominae had a tinge of childishness in his voice.
<i>Hahaha. What is?</i>
He laughed. “The fact that I’m friends with an Aveon, of course! I only <b>dreamed</b> of this as a child!”
<i>You still are a child.</i>
“Maybe to you! But I passed the adulthood test in my village!”
<i>And that’s why they exiled you?</i>
“NO! …SHUT UP!”
<i>As I said. Still a child.</i>
Drominae chuckled softly. “…So? I’m happy being one.”
<i>Then that’s all that counts, I suppose.</i>
“Cross…”
<i>Yes, Drominae?<i>
“I love you.”
<i>Woah, what? If you think that I’m getting into any of that beastia-</i>
“No, not like that. Platonically, I mean.”
<i>Oh. In that case, I love you too.</i>
“That makes me happy. Come here!” Drominae hugged the Aveon around his neck, as it was the only place he could give an effective hug. “I hope we never have to part.”
<i>Likewise.</i>
-Part V
Aeva cautiously walked through the roots and looked around in the darkness underneath the Cyima trunk. “Drom? You there?”
No answer.
“Drommy? You told me…” <i>He didn’t forget. I know he didn’t… maybe something happened</i>, she thought. “Drominae!” Her voice echoed. She stood around for a bit before seeing a shadow move outside. A low growl was heard that couldn’t me mistaken. <i>Oh no… it’s a Felicanth… Drom. Please be Drom. Please be-</i> She let out a loud gasp as a pack of three Felicanth came in from different sides of the tree. She closed her eyes. “Oh Jensi, no… Please no…”
“AEVA!” The word echoed throughout the tree, drawing the beasts’ attention momentarily. They looked back at their prey, however and advanced. A quick draft blew across Aeva’s face, followed by the noise a Felicanth makes when it’s in pain. It happened two more times and the draft was gone.
“Open your eyes,” said Drominae, holding a hand to Aeva’s chin. As she opened her eyes to meet his, he kissed her immediately as meaningfully as he could. Tears came down both their cheeks as they kissed, the sadness of being without each other and the happiness of finally seeing each other again combining. “I missed you a lot.”
“I missed you too. I really did!” sobbed Aeva.
“I love you. So much. I mean… I really, really love you. I’m so glad you’re here and safe,” said Drominae in between sobs.
Aeva wrapped her arms around him tightly in a hug and cried into his shoulder, mumbling, “You don’t know the half of it! I’ve been so lonely and worried and upset! The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I knew you would be here, today! A lot of people miss you, Drom! But most importantly, I missed you!”
Drominae stroked her hair gently, allowing her to cry out until she let go of him. “Come, love… We can’t do this here. It’s unsafe.” He picked her up and carried her wedding-style back to Mount Drome.
Aeva’s eyes nearly popped in surprise as she was put down. “<i>This</i> is where you’ve been living? And yet”, she leaned over and sniffed his arm, “You smell somewhat <i>clean</i>!”
“Well of course. I have to smell and look my best if I’m having a lady of such high caliber over,” said Drominae in a pleased tone. Looking his best was him being decked out in armor made from countless Aveons and Apachedromes.
After looking around, Aeva wandered back to Drominae with an awed expression. “You’ve really taken care of yourself. What’s your secret, mister “survivalist”?”
“You really want to know? I warn you, you might get a little scared,” leaded Drominae.
“Scared? Now I <i>really</i> want to know!” followed Aeva.
“Hey, Cross! You can come out now!” yelled Drominae.
“Cross? Who’s that? Someone else?” asked Aeva in confusion.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Drominae said with a smirk. The sound of flapping wings came into hearing and before she realized what was going on, Cross landed in front of Aeva.
<i>Good day to you, m’lady.</i>
Aeva screamed and clung to Drominae. “Dr-dr-drominae! WHY IS THERE A GIANT, BLACK AVEON HERE!!!
? DON’T LET HIM EAT US!!!!!!”
<i>Why I never!</i>
“I told you. And now you’re scared. Relax. That’s Cross. Or as you might know him, The Grand Cross,” explained Drominae.
<i>Oh boy, I haven’t heard that name in a while. I feel old.</i>
“Wh-what is this? I hear him inside my head!!!!” yelled Aeva.
“That’s just how he talks. You’re safe here, don’t worry,” assured Drominae.
“Ok, ok… I’ve accepted it now. Hello…Cross. I’m Aeva. Pleasure to meet you…”
<i>Pleasure is all mine. Drom talks about you all the time. He wasn’t lying about you being pretty. I’m a different species and even I think you’re a hefty fine piece of meat.</i>
Aeva blushed. “Thank you, I think.”
<i>You’re very welcome. Can I go, now? I was flirting.</i>
“Go get ‘em, tiger. Don’t cheat,” replied Drominae.
<i>What? Oh, whatever. Nice to meet you, miss Aeva. I must be off. Have fun, you two.</i> With that, Cross got up and flew off.
“He’s learned a lot from me, I’m afraid,” laughed Drominae.
“How long have you two been together?” asked Aeva.
“A good nine months maybe?” replied Drominae.
“Cool. You and him seem close,” stated Aeva.
Drominae laughed. “For an Aveon and a Neonisan, we are definitely <i>too</i> close. Just make believe you never saw him. He wants to remain as a legendary beast.”
“Gotcha,” said Aeva with a wink. “So tell me… aside from all this armor and strength and Aveons, you change much?”
“I’ll let you be the judge of that,” snickered Drominae, planting a kiss on her.
“Yes, yes I will,” she said before the two of them got so involved with each other that not even romance novels could capture their feelings. Sigrees later, Cross was about to come back but ended up flying away, wishing he hadn’t seen what he did. The night ended like that, though. The two lovers were reunited.
The next afternoon, Aeva was back in the village, talking to Cyris about how Drominae is and everything.
“So you saw him!?” exclaimed Cyris.
“I did more than just see him… I… well. It was the best day of my life!” chirped Aeva.
“I’m so happy to hear that he’s alright! Can I go see him?” asked Cyris.
Aeva almost said yes but remembered Cross. “No. He doesn’t want anyone else knowing where he’s been. You understand.”
“Yes, completely. When you’re running from the law, you can’t have people knowing where you are!” said Cyris before making the tune from some crime drama he saw at the theater recently.
“Alright cool! So as I was saying…” Aeva trailed off as the priestess came over to here, looking her up and down.
“You have been tainted. We must take you,” said the priestess.
“Wait! Where are you taking her?” asked Cyris.
“That is none of your business, boy!” yelled the priestess, gripping Aeva’s right arm tightly.
“Like hell it isn’t! She’s my friend! You can’t expect me to sit back idly and watch!” retorted Cyris, gently grabbing Aeva’s left arm.
“Do you want the same fate as her?” asked the priestess in a shrill yell.
“What fate is that!? I’ll gladly take it!” shouted Cyris. He looked at Aeva and smirked. “I got your back.” Aeva looked back with worry.
“Well since you offered, I’ll tell you. Its… DEATH! After extenuating cleansing of the soul! You will get the same for defending your tainted friend. And for the birth of this parasite, his family will be granted the same,” explained the priestess, a sadistic smile on her face.
“You- you can’t do that! That’s not right!” yelled Aeva.
“Silence, you filth! I have every authority I need to do this. I will purge this village of any scourge that I find. And there are three examples of it within these walls! You two over here and that <i>wretched</i> mother of his!” hissed the woman.
Cyris glared for a second before punching the priestess in the face, slinging Aeva onto his back, and running out of the village. “Ok, Aeva. Now you <i>have</i> to tell me where he is.”
Aeva nodded. “Ok!”
Shamans came to help the priestess up. She was pissed, among other things. “Kill the mother. Then, sniff out the rest of them and bring their dead bodies back here. I want blood.”
The shamans nodded and simultaneously vanished into the air.
-Part VI
“Aeva! Cyris! What the F**k are you two doing here!” yelled Drominae.
<i>I thought you said she wouldn’t tell anybody! Liar!</i>
“Aeva was in tears as she got off of Cyris’ back and went to embrace Drominae. “Tha Priest lady and the clean and the mom and the killing and the trouble and old!!!!” she cried in a sobbed-up mess.
“Is that The Grand Cross…?” asked Cyris, stepping back.
“Ok. Aeva. I want you to take a step back, breathe, and then tell me,” Drominae said, confused at the girl.
Aeva did as he said and took a deep breath. “Ok. So the priestess wanted to cleanse me and kill me. So Cyris defended me and they want to do the same to him. And… your mother. They have her marked too. She’s probably-“
“WHAT!?” yelled Drominae. “You’re not serious, are you?”
“I am… I’m sorry! I- I- I couldn’t do anything!” cried Aeva.
<i>Seriously, this guy keeps staring.</i>
“G-Grand Cross?” asked Cyris, again.
<i>That’s Cross to you buddy.</i>
“Yes, sir…” replied Cyris.
“Aeva… I want you and Cyris to stay here. But I need both of you to help me set up traps. We don’t have much time before the shamans hunt you guys down and then we’re all screwed,” ordered Drominae, a stern look on his face. His gaze turned to Cross.
<i>Of course. It would be my pleasure.</i>
“Thank you.” Drominae turned back to Cyris and Aeva. “Come on.”
Night came swiftly and a fire was started on Mount Drome. Everyone sat around until about midnight.
“Cyris, I would hate for you to be third wheel so go hang out with Cross. Cross, go somewhere else, if you would please. Stay in alert range, though,” said Drominae, looking down at Aeva who had herself clung to him awkwardly.
<i>Wait, why? Oh. I see. Have fun. Let’s go, kid.</i>
Before Cyris could react, he was taken and removed by Cross.
“This might be our last night together,” mentioned Drominae.
“I know, honey. Make it last?” replied Aeva in a whisper.
“You and I both know the answer to that one, my love.” Drominae began undressing her as she did to him. The night went through without a disturbance. As did the next day and the next night. (They took a break during the day don’t worry.) The third night, however, stopped before it began. A shadow was seen on a rock. The shadow of a cloaked person.
“The shamans! They bypassed the traps!” yelled Cyris.
“Then grab a weapon, some armor, and get ready to fight!” Drominae yelled back. “Cross, take Aeva and keep her safe!”
<i>On it</i>. Cross was quick to get Aeva out of there.
Two shamans walked onto the plateau of Mount Drome.
“This is where you have been, Dromenail. Interesting,” said the one in a blue cloak. The one next to her, in a red cloak nodded. You could not see their faces, just their mouths. The cloak went over their eyes and nose.
“You’ve come for my friend and my love. I guess that means me too,” stated Drominae.
“As expected,” said Red.
“Well then. Bring it,” replied Drominae with a smirk.
“It’s already been brought!” yelled Blue, jumping back. Her eyes began to glow through the fabric of her hood. In her hands were balls of water. Red mirrored her, only with fire.
“God, I hate shamans,” murmured Cyris.
“GO!” Drominae yelled before rushing forward with his giant blade. Blue shot concentrated bursts of water at him, some that he dodged; others hit him and broke skin.
Cyris had grabbed a short sword and a shield and charged at Red. Like Blue, Red shot concentrated bursts, only of fire instead of water. The shield easily blocked the fire, however.
Drominae got to striking range with Blue and swung his blade, grabbing a direct hit. She split in two, but her halves turned into water and instantly moved behind him, causing her to reappear with a solid whip of water. She swung, although blocked by Drominae’s sword. He charged again, blocking what he could and enduring the rest. As he swung, he immediately began to turn around, slashing what was behind him. He hit air and was left fully open where Blue had truly reappeared.
“Gotcha!” she said cutely, sending a powerful burst of water at Drominae. He was hit by it and cried out in pain. It felt like a thousand tiny needles hitting him at once, piercing right through his armor. “Water gets everywhere! Doesn’t it suck?”
Cyris got to Red and began swinging. Red made a solid blade of fire and the fight quickly turned into a duel. Cyris blocked her blade with the shield, however at the chance and struck with the blade. Blood flew and Red jumped back, bleeding from her stomach.
“You <b>C*n*!</b>” yelled Red before materializing two flame swords and running back at Cyris. She went full offense with strategy and began an unrelenting torrent of hacks and slashes.
“Looks like Red is berserking your friend there. I feel bad for him, I really do. Not as bad as you though,” said Blue. She made a ball of water in her hand and walked over to Drominae, who was on the ground fro the water blast. About to bring it to his face to drown him, a large blast of energy sent her flying back. Drominae nodded at Cross, who flew overhead and essentially air-striked the area before flying off.
Red was hit by one blast, causing her to fly back into the middle of three others. Before she could get up, Cyris was looking down at her in her torn cloak. Underneath she had nothing except matching, light armor that kind of looked like lingerie.
“Shame to see such a pretty thing go. But… Shame to see me go more,” stated Cyris. Red scoffed before getting caught in confusion. Cyris picked her up and began walking. He stopped and gave her a kiss on the lips.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” yelled Red.
“Saying goodbye,” said Cyris before dumping her over the cliff and turning around. “Well, Drominae that’s on-“ Cyris’ sentence was stopped by a concentrated water pierce through the heart. He reached down and looked at his hands, now covered in blood. “Well this is ironic. Save Aeva.” He looked back up and with a tear, fell backwards, off the cliff.
“CYRIS, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!” Yelled Drominae, watching. His eyes teared up as he turned back to Blue. “You’re F**ked.”
“And why’s that?” asked Blue.
Drominae drew his Bow and pointed. “You’ll see in a second.” He let go, watching her smirk and let the arrow pass through her like water before lunging. She reformed herself on his carving knife, which had now been placed inside of her. He twisted the blade so the front faced towards her head, and slashed up. “That’s why.”
Cross landed, dropping off Aeva who had Cyris’ body in her arms. “Is he really?”
“Yes,” replied Drominae solemnly. He wasn’t crying anymore, though. He had cried out. “Just please… keep yourself safe.” He walked to Aeva and embraced her.
“I will. I promise you,” she said, hugging him back.
The night went on without an unnatural disturbance. Cross was still disturbed, though. They actually slept afterwards though, their ears on duty just in case. Morning came and brought hell.
“Good morning, sleepy heads!” yelled a female voice sadistically. Two colors came flying towards them; green and orange. Orange was stopped by Drominae’s hand on her head, however Green was stopped by something else. Blood hit the ground. An arm shrouded in an air-energy field pierced the chest of a body. No one was able to react in time. It was like running from a breeze.
“I’m sor-ry, Drom-. I know I just… Promised,” said Aeva, struggling for last words. “Just remember what you told me. Be strong. Cross… don’t stand there in shock and awe. Kill the bitch.” Aeva’s head dropped and her body went limp. Cross roared something fearsome, grabbing Green’s head in his mouth and slamming the body against the wall. Drominae stood still, paralyzed by what he just saw. Next was Orange, who was thrashed around until she was an unrecognizable pulp of a person. That was it. That was the end of it. Cyris and Aeva… were gone.
<i>Drominae! Drominae! Can you hear me, Drominae! Drom!</i>
-Finale
Drominae’s eyes had changed. They were now that of a killer. Cross had noticed it rather well.
<i>So you’re going to get vengeance?</i>
“Yeah. Maybe that’ll end this all.”
<i>You really think they’ll be able to kill you?</i>
“Dying can’t be that difficult. Everyone else seems to have been able to do it just fine.”
<i>Now you know that wasn’t their intenti-</i>
“I know. But it is mine. I wish to see them in the afterlife.”
<i>But you can’t do that like this…</i>
“Why <b>not</b>?”
<i>Because. I need you.</i>
Drominae’s eyes glossed over. “I know. And I’m sorry.”
<i>Please at least try to live. For me.</i>
“…Fine. You’re lucky you’re my friend.” After that, Drominae took what he needed, and left for the village.
Flames ran through buildings and dead bodies were in the street. Drominae stood in the middle of it, bleeding from every new scar on his body, laughing. “AHAHAHAHA! PRIESTESS! COME OUT AND PLAY! LETS CLEANSE SOULS! HAHAHAHA!”
The Priestess approached him with a stern expression. “If this is what you wanted all along, then take it.”
Drominae stared at her, his eyes piercing through her being. “This? This is your fault, lady. This is what you get when you take down my life.”
The priestess scoffed. “I was protecting <i>my</i> people. What would <i>you</i> know about that, demon?”
Drominae narrowed his eyes. “Wrong Answer.” He took out a small vial of liquid and smirked. “Have fun.” He trusted his hand into her abdomen, broke the vial, and removed himself. The priestess dropped to her knees as Drominae began to walk off. The village went to ashes.
“I’m <b>STILL</b> not satisfied! I killed every single one in that village! Why aren’t I satisfied!?” yelled Drominae.
<i>Anything on your mind that normally wouldn’t be? And what you did to that woman was wicked. The worst venom to die from is the bacteria in a Aveon’s urine.</i>
“Wicked! That’s it!” Drominae cracked a smile. Since the regression, that’s bothered me. I must recreate them! I must bring them back. In honor of everything I did. All the lives gone. And in honor of you. If it wasn’t for that regression, it would have never happened. I must bring back… <b>THE WICKED!</b>
Epilogue:
Drominae went on with Cross to recreate The Wicked. He began to become gradually more and more happy as long as he was with Cross. Anywhere else, he was miserable and cold-hearted to everyone. No matter what, he would still always be bitter at the world. He was able to kill someone without thinking twice. He knew it wasn’t good for him if he kept this attitude while in rule of a large power. Her granted Cross control of The Wicked who would talk through Drominae. Drominae resigned himself to a General and leader of The Wicked military. Many cycles later, The Wicked was once more.